In maintaining a bed in a clean, smooth and comfortable condition for sleeping, it is necessary to make the bed daily and to change or replace the bedding sheets periodically. In the case of bedding replacement, and often when making a bed, the bedding must be completely removed and replaced in order for the bed to be properly remade. The sheets are first placed on the bed and then tucked under the mattress, occasionally requiring the lifting of the edges and ends of the mattress. Making beds in this manner is time consuming and can cause considerable back strain.
The use of contour or fitted sheets does not lead to a solution of these problems. The fitting of one or more such sheets to a mattress still requires lifting the mattress at the corners, thus not avoiding back strain. Contour sheets are more time consuming and difficult to use than standard sheets when a bed is located adjacent to a wall as the corners of the mattress are then not easily accessible. Contour sheets are more difficult and expensive to fabricate than standard flat sheets because contour sheets can have mitered corners and usually include an elastic strip around the bottom of each corner of the sheet.
It is also known to use hook and loop material, commonly sold under the trademark VELCRO, to secure a sheet to a mattress. A problem associated with existing hook and loop fasteners in known bedding systems is that the fastening material is often placed near the corners of the sheets so that a cup or pocket will be formed after the sheet is fastened in place over the mattress. The fit of the sheet must be tight in order to secure the sheet by its corners to the mattress. The combination of shear, torque and tensile forces exerted on the corners of such a fitted sheet during normal use of the bed can cause the hook and loop strip fasteners to work loose.
Other bedding systems using hook and loop fasteners place fasteneing material strips near the top or the bottom of the sides of the mattress. The sheets in these systems have mating fastening strips placed to exactly fit the location of the mattress strips. A problem with these systems is that no provision is made for turning of the mattress end for end or top for bottom. It is well known that mattresses last longer if rotated and turned on a regular basis. After turning a mattress of one of these known systems, the fastening strips on the mattress and the sheets no longer align properly, thus rendering the system inoperable.
As demonstrated by the foregoing background matters, there exists a substantial need for an improved bedding system overcoming the problems and drawbacks discussed above. A system is needed which allows a bed to be quickly made without the need to stoop and lift the mattress, and which allows the mattress to be turned end for end and top to bottom without affecting the operation of the system.